Posted in: Comics | Tagged: Comics, entertianment, turncoat

Mac's Books Digital Edition: Turncoat

Published Tue, 22 Dec 2015 20:30:24 -0600

A monthly review spotlighting the best titles the UK indie press has to offer.

By Olly MacNamee.

Turncoat
Writer: Ryan O'Sullivan
Artist: Plaid Klaus
Published daily at turncoatcomic.com

Enjoying a well earned break, I found myself catching up on some well overdue reading and this led me to finally sit down and take a look at T Pub alumni Ryan O'Sullivan and Plaid Klaus's webcomic series, Turncoat, launched back in September but now up to issue 4. The story first focuses us on Duke, a superhero assassin who clearly puts the 'ass' into assassin as we witness him taking down one superhero after another, badly, and with help from hired goons that he is only top quick to frame in his stead. Not the best of partners to be going into the field with. And not the best of husbands either, as we soon learn his wife is also in the business of thinning out the superhero population in order to keep their numbers at more manageable levels. Indeed, it is her employment in this field that, we learn later on, led Duke to take up his current day job of sanctioned hero killer with a whole shady black ops department behind him for support. That and a dark moment from his childhood best left for you, the reader, to find out for yourself I think.

Sticking to the above average and none-essential, Duke and his ilk stay under the radar until he is informed of the hit of all hits: taking out the Liberty Brigade, made up of the elite this imagined universe has to offer. All parodies of all too familiar archetypes, but a clear indication to the reader that this is more than just a 'who-done-it' but also a black humoured tale of anti-heroism and antagonism, both of the public and private variety. Duke is not an easily loveable killer, but then their Superman (Saviour) and Batman (Black Prince) doppelgangers aren't that nice either. In one scene, Duke comes across a civvy-dressing Saviour making out with one of many groupies. He may seem saddened at her untimely demise, but then he doesn't even remember her name. Some people really are in it for the glory, it would seem. This is more in the vein of Black Mirror than simple black comedy and O'Sullivan is more than happy to poke around under the scab of modern superheroics.

Needless to say, the plot is full of twists and turns, essential when you are releasing one page a day and wanting to build an audience ready to come back for more, as I will undoubtedly do, given as I write this I am only a few pages away from the end of the 4^th issue and I wanna know what happens to… well, you'll have to read it for yourself. It is free after all, so other than owning a phone, tablet or computer, what's stopping you? After all, Klaus's artwork is a good fit for this type of dark humoured strip, reminding me at times of William Messner-Loebs' style, but tighter and more polished. Each character is recognizable throughout and each has a definitive look. Duke's marionette like mask is both low tech (it's just a mask) and very apt for someone as inept as he tends to be, whatever the situation. His only friend seems to be his dog, but at times even that is debatable. As for the Black Prince's prissy Tudor inspired costume, well, it sums up for me what this whole strip is aiming for: both a celebration of the genre while poking holes in it fondly.

O'Sullivan offers a script that fleshes out the varied central characters aptly and quickly. By the fourth issue we have learnt a great deal about Duke's failed marriage, the reasons for taking up the job he does (and, along with so many other events, it's an origin laced with a sick level of comedy I can get behind) and his current sad state of affairs. The aforementioned superheroes don't need to be made flesh, as they are immediately recognizable and act more as a backdrop to the real threat, slowly hinted at throughout these first few issues before the doors are well and truly blown off in the fourth issue. It is enough that Duke, Sharon (his ex) and his back up team are given life. This is their story after all. The heroes really are collateral damage.

With real identities and the true machinations of others seemingly revealed, Turncoat seems to be racing towards and exciting, in-your-face conclusion which I imagine will be in keeping with what has come before; a riotous, irreverent battle royale with an impressive, excessive body count that would make Deadpool blush.

Worth checking out!

Be seeing you.

Olly MacNamee teaches English and Media, for his sins, in a school somewhere in Birmingham. Some days, even he doesn't know where it is. Follow him on twitter @ollymacnamee or read about his exploits at olly.macnamee@blogspot.co.uk. Or don't. You can also read his articles fairly frequently at www.bleedingcool.com too.

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